School of Humanities

MLA: Master of Liberal Arts

Program Mission

The mission of the Master of Liberal Arts is to provide a broad and balanced spectrum of graduate courses that are interdisciplinary in nature and focused on the moral, aesthetic, and intellectual values of the liberal arts.

A Classical Approach to the Liberal Arts

The Master of Liberal Arts program at HBU is dedicated to training students in the classical model of education, preparing them to serve in a variety of professions and vocations. The degree is designed for students desiring a broad and deep course of study in the Liberal Arts with an emphasis on the Great Books of the Western Tradition.

While the MLA at HBU is flexible enough to satisfy the particular interests of each student, we do not subscribe to the common “grab bag” approach to Liberal Arts. Instead, we provide a core of six courses in the Western Tradition that is both chronologically progressive and cohesive to enable students to grasp the flow and development of ideas that have shaped the modern world. Other elective courses are focused on essential figures (i.e. St. Augustine), periods (i.e. Tudor England), and topics (i.e. democracy, logic, church/state relations). Also, the MLA encourages students to craft their degree around one of three optional areas of emphasis (Classical Learning, Research, and General Liberal Arts).

Program Distinctives

Courses combine Classical Liberal Arts and the Christian worldview

Small classes that are seminar-based, rooted in the Great Books and Socratic dialogue

Faculty are distinguished Christian scholars from a variety of disciplines

Part-time or Full-time enrollment (rolling admissions)

6-hour thesis option available

After Graduation:

MLA students are successful in a diversity of careers and vocations. Previous graduates of the MLA have gone on to positions as private/classical school teachers, school administrators, junior college instructors, and positions in various industries. Others have continued their graduate study in doctoral programs and other advanced degrees.

Associated Faculty:

The program’s faculty are among HBU’s most prized instructors. They are as diverse as the liberal arts, with poets, philosophers, historians, public intellectuals, political theorists, and literary scholars. Their writing has appeared in The Imaginative Conservative, Books & Culture, The New Criterion, The Ben Jonson Journal, The South Carolina Review, and First Things, and they are regular contributors to HBU’s monthly The City. The faculty also represent a wide array of internationally ranked institutions, with terminal degrees from: University of Virginia, Baylor University, Princeton University, Notre Dame University, University of Exeter, Louisiana State University, and University of Dallas.